Tag Archives: Author Talk

Best Wishes by Richard Glover

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When I purchased my copy of Richard Glover’s latest book Best Wishes, I set myself up in my favourite chair on the decking and didn’t really move again until I was finished the whole book.

Best Wishes was an enjoyable, relatable, laugh out loud read. Filled with Richard Glover’s usual wit, sass, and humour. I found myself wishing (excuse the pun) for another few hundred wishes. Somehow, 365 didn’t feel like nearly enough.

If you are looking for the perfect book to lose yourself in on a sunny Saturday morning in your favourite spot, then Best Wishes is that book. I guarantee you will feel a warm glow inside when you have finished.

Should you enjoy Best Wishes as much as I did, do yourself a favour and listen to the eAudiobook version; narrated by Richard Glover himself, it is brilliant! I read the book and listened to eAudiobook.

Listen to this book online [Borrow Box]

If you enjoy Richard Glover’s books as much as I do then why not pop along to his Author Talk on Saturday 18th November 2023 at Parramatta Library at PHIVE.

Happy reading everyone, I hope you all enjoy Best Wishes as much as I did.

Jody

Heather Morris Presents Three Sisters

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City of Parramatta Libraries is very excited to present our first in-person author talk for 2022 with none other than global best selling author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz and Cilka’s Journey, Heather Morris! Three Sisters is her third novel, and the final piece in the phenomenon that is the Tattooist of Auschwitz series.

Heather will be speaking about her heartbreaking new historical novel of love and survival Three Sisters – a story of three brave and inspiring sisters Cibi, Magda & Livia. 
Their story will break your heart.
Their journey will fill you with hope.
Their names will be remembered.

Three Sisters is a beautiful story of hope in the hardest of times and of finding love after loss. Two of the sisters are alive in Israel today, surrounded by friends and family. They have chosen Heather Morris to tell their story.

This wonderful event will be at Wentworth Point Community Centre & Library on Friday 11 March, 6.15pm arrival for a 6.30pm start.
Copies of Three Sisters can be purchased on the night and signed by the author. Tickets are limited for this free event so book your place now.

November 2021 Author Talks

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City of Parramatta Libraries have teamed up with Public Libraries NSW for the final time this year to end our FREE online author talks with a bang! These are the last three author talks for 2021 that you can attend from the comfort of home and we thank you for attending the talks throughout the year. Recordings of our previous talks can be found here and are certainly deserving of a watch or even a re-watch. I think my favourite might be Judy Nunn, she is such an engaging and enthusiastic speaker.

In case you missed it don’t forget tonight is the author talk with the beloved host of ABC Gardening Australia, Costa Georgiadis, with his new book Costa’s World, he is sure to be an entertaining and enlightening speaker.

David Hunt presents Girt Nation in conversation with Wendy Harmer
Friday 5 November, 1.00pm

Noted historian David Hunt will be in conversation with Wendy Harmer, one of Australia’s much loved personalities, speaking about his latest historical work.
David Hunt tramples the tall poppies of the past in charting Australia’s transformation from aspiration to nation – an epic tale of charlatans and costermongers, of bush bards and bushier bastards, of labourers and ladies who weren’t going to take it anymore.Girt Nation introduces Alfred Deakin, the Liberal necromancer whose dead advisors made Australia a better place to live, and Banjo Paterson, the jihadist who called on God and the Prophet to drive the Australian infidels from the Sudan ‘like sand before the gale’. And meet Catherine Helen Spence, the feminist polymath who envisaged a utopian future of free contraceptives, easy divorce and immigration restrictions to prevent the ‘Chinese coming to destroy all we have struggled for!’
To register book online – https://parra.city/hunt21

Michael Connelly presents The Dark Hours in conversation with Ben Hobson
Friday 19 November, 12.00pm

Best selling author Michael Connelly will be in conversation with Australian author Ben Hobson about his latest Ballard & Bosch thriller The Dark Hours, in one of only two live events that Michael will deliver directly to an Australian audience.
A brazen and methodical killer strikes on New Year’s Eve and LAPD Detective Renée Ballard and Harry Bosch must join forces to find justice for the victim in a city scarred by fear and social unrest. There’s chaos in Hollywood at the end of the New Year’s Eve countdown. Working her graveyard shift, LAPD Detective Renée Ballard waits out the traditional rain of lead as hundreds of revellers shoot their guns into the air. Only minutes after midnight, Ballard is called to a scene where a hardworking auto shop owner has been fatally hit by a bullet in the middle of a crowded street party. Ballard quickly concludes that the deadly bullet could not have fallen from the sky and that it is linked to another unsolved murder—a case at one time worked by Detective Harry Bosch.
To register book online – https://parra.city/connelly21

Fiona McIntosh presents The Spy’s Wife
Wednesday 24 November, 1.00pm

Fiona McIntosh will be in conversation with Mel Tong from Macquarie Regional Library chatting about her highly anticipated new historical adventure The Spy’s Wife.
Evie, a widow and stationmaster’s daughter, can’t help but look out for the weekly visit of the handsome man she and her sister call the Southerner on their train platform in the wilds of northern England. When polite salutations shift to friendly conversations, they become captivated by each other. After so much sorrow, the childless Evie can’t believe love and the chance for her own family have come into her life again. With rumours coming out of Germany that Hitler may be stirring up war, local English authorities have warned against spies. Even Evie becomes suspicious of her new suitor, Roger. But all is not what it seems. 
Penguin Random House Australia and Fiona McIntosh are giving one lucky attendee a chance to win a beautiful Hermès silk scarf. To register book online – https://parra.city/mcintosh21

October 2021 Author Talks

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City of Parramatta Libraries have once again teamed up with Public Libraries NSW to offer our communities the chance to attend FREE online author talks over the coming months.
There are three author talks for the month of October that you can attend from the comfort of home – Judy Nunn, Claire G. Coleman and Costa Georgiadis.

Judy Nunn Presents Showtime!
Wednesday 6 October, 6.30pm

Judy Nunn will be in conversation with Catherine Krause from Central Coast Libraries about her bestselling new novel Showtime! that takes us on a scintillating journey through the golden age of Australian show business.
In the second half of the 19th century, Melbourne is a veritable boom town, as hopefuls from every corner of the globe flock to the gold fields of Victoria. And where people crave gold, they also crave entertainment. Enter stage right: brothers Will and Max Worthing and their wives Mabel and Gertie.
To register book online – parra.city/nunn21

Claire G. Coleman Presents Lies, Damned Lies
Thursday 14 October, 6.30pm

Claire G. Coleman will be in conversation with Torres Strait Islander journalist and broadcaster, Rhianna Patrick, speaking about her non-fiction debut Lies, Damned Lies.
In Lies, Damned Lies, Coleman wields the truths unseen in Australia’s history to highlight the wrongs that underpin the very foundations of this nation. Coleman has long used her writing as a vehicle for truth-telling and Lies, Damned Lies is the ultimate exemplar of this. By layering her experiences against the realities of Australia’s past and present Coleman demonstrates the ongoing impacts of colonisation on the individual, and on Country, to devastating effect. 
To register book online – parra.city/coleman21

Costa Georgiadis Presents Costa’s World
Wednesday 27 October, 6.30pm

Costa Georgiadis will be in conversation with Robyn Syphers from Camden Libraries discussing his new book Costa’s World.
Gardening for the soul, the soil and the suburbs – from the beloved host of ABC TV’s Gardening Australia. A generous, joyous, fully illustrated gardening book, Costa’s World celebrates the life-changing joy of chooks; kids in the garden; big ideas for small spaces; Costa’s favourite plants; growing the right plants for your conditions; biodiversity in the soil and garden; the power of community; the brilliance of bees and pollinators; easy-peasy permaculture; and much, much more. Bringing together all of Costa’s gardening and sustainability knowledge, this is a book for the whole family that reflects Costa’s philosophy and big-hearted sense of fun.
To register book online – parra.city/costa21

Radicals: Remembering the Sixties

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Are you tired of watching online author talks by yourself? Want to meet with other book lovers and reminisce about the 1960’s?  We invite you to either watch at home or get your ‘groove on’ at our watch at the library event on Thursday 13 May at 1pm.

Join us at Parramatta Library at our Sixties gathering to watch the talk on our big screen. Enjoy our 60s themed décor and free light lunch inspired by the period. Did you know that the 1960’s saw the invention of Splice (1962), Tim Tams (1964) and the release of the first Margaret Fullton Cookbook (1968)?

Meredith Burgmann and Nadia Wheatley will be in conversation via Zoom with Melinda McNaughton from Wollondilly Library Service discussing Radicals: Remembering the Sixties with the support of NSW Public Libraries Association.

Register to attend our 60s themed ‘watch at the library’ event by calling Parramatta Library on 9806 5159 during opening hours. Each attendee for the on-site event will go into the draw for a chance to win a copy of the book in our lucky door prize. Get an extra entry into the draw by dressing up in Sixties themed clothing or accessories. Social distancing and covid19-safe restrictions will apply.

Unable to get to Parramatta Library but want to watch the talk?
To attend the event online via Zoom as an audience member – book here

The Sixties – an era of protest, free love, civil disobedience, duffel coats, flower power, giant afros and desert boots, all recorded on grainy black and white film footage – marked a turning point for change. Radicals found their voices and used them.  While the initial trigger for protest was opposition to the Vietnam War, this anger quickly escalated to include Aboriginal Land Rights, Women’s Liberation, Gay Liberation, Apartheid, Student Power and ‘workers’ control’. 

In Radicals some of the people doing the changing – including David Marr, Margret Road Knight, Gary Foley, Jozefa Sobski and Geoffrey Robertson – reflect on how the decade changed them and Australian society forever.